The present invention relates generally to a photovoltaic device, and more particularly, to a semiconductor photovoltaic device and a method of fabricating the same.
Due to limited resources on the earth and increasing demand for energy, interest in developing energy sources is rapidly growing. Solar energy is one of the most important energy sources that have become available in recent years. A great deal of attention has been paid to photovoltaic devices such as solar cells, which are capable of converting solar energy into electrical energy. Solar cells may be fabricated on semiconductor wafers such as silicon (Si) wafers. In general, a semiconductor solar cell may include a p-n junction between a p-type semiconductor and an n-type semiconductor. In the solar cell, electron-hole pairs are energized by photon. The generated electrons and holes may respectively move toward the p-type and n-type semiconductors, and then accumulate in separate contacts. When light is incident on the solar cell, an electrical current may be generated and an electrical voltage may be established.
Conversion efficiency, which is generally represented as a ratio of electric output of a solar cell to an amount of incident light, may be an important index of the performance of solar cells. Generally, the higher the conversion efficiency, the less conversion loss from solar energy to electric energy. Accordingly, it may be desirable to have a semiconductor photovoltaic device that has relatively high conversion efficiency. It may also be desirable to have a method of manufacturing semiconductor photovoltaic devices having relatively high conversion efficiency.